Program | Button 2020

Day One: Live broadcast schedule

9:00 a.m.–9:10 a.m. CDT (UTC-5)

Welcome to Button!

Kristina Halvorson, Brain Traffic

9:10 a.m.–10:20 a.m. CDT (UTC-5)

Keynotes and conversations

How to win over designers and influence engineers

Chelsea Larsson, Zendesk

Design is obscenity

Madeline Grdina, Indiana University

10:20 a.m.–10:50 a.m. CDT (UTC-5)

30-minute break

10:50 a.m.–11:50 a.m. CDT (UTC-5)

Small-group discussions

Pick a topic, and hop into one of our Zoom rooms to meet new friends and talk shop.

11:50 a.m.–12:00 p.m. CDT (UTC-5)

10-minute break

12:00 p.m.–1:00 p.m. CDT (UTC-5)

Panel: Button Book Club

Join host David Dylan Thomas as he leads a roundtable discussion with fellow authors and leaders in our community.

David Dylan Thomas

Design for Cognitive Bias

Scott Kubie

Writing for Designers

Torrey Podmajersky

Strategic Writing for UX

Andy Welfle

Writing Is Designing

Michael Metts

Writing Is Designing

1:00 p.m.–3:15 p.m. CDT (UTC-5)

Downtime and watch parties

Here’s some time to chill out, catch up, and check out the talks in our on-demand library.
‍See the watch party schedule

3:15 p.m.–3:50 p.m. CDT (UTC-5)

Quarantimes: Self-care against all odds

So, 2020 has been … A LOT. Come hear fellow attendees share how they’re surviving These Unprecedented Times™, with coping mechanisms ranging from meditation to foster dogs.

3:50 p.m.–4:00 p.m. CDT (UTC-5)

10-minute break

4:00 p.m.–4:35 p.m. CDT (UTC-5)

Keynotes and conversations

UX for toddlers and other humans

Lindsey Thomas, Target

4:35 p.m.–5:10 p.m. CDT (UTC-5)

Fireside chat with Aarron Walter

Tune in as Kristina Halvorson interviews Aarron Walter (author, Designing for Emotion and VP of Content, InVision) about how we make human connections through design.

Aarron Walter, InVision

Kristina Halvorson, Brain Traffic

5:10 p.m.–5:15 p.m. CDT (UTC-5)

Day one wrap-up

Kristina Halvorson, Brain Traffic

5:15 p.m.–7:00 p.m. CDT (UTC-5)

Downtime and watch parties

Here’s some time to chill out, catch up, and check out the talks in our on-demand library.
‍See the watch party schedule

7:00 p.m.–8:00 p.m. CDT (UTC-5)

International Tour of Libations

Join this unconventional happy hour as we toast the first day of the first-ever Button with beverages in every time zone.

Elle Geraghty, Elle Geraghty Content Strategy

Day Two: Live broadcast schedule

7:45 a.m.–8:45 a.m. CDT (UTC -5)

Watch parties

Gather with fellow attendees in your time zone to watch a talk from our on-demand library—hosted by the speaker!
See the watch party schedule

9:00 a.m.–9:10 a.m. CDT (UTC-5)

Button Day 2 kickoff

Kristina Halvorson, Brain Traffic

9:10 a.m.–10:20 a.m. CDT (UTC-5)

Keynotes and conversations

How UX writing is like standup comedy (and also how it’s not)

Vivek Sri, Zendesk

Write better, faster, and with more authority

Angela Gorden, Work & Co

10:20 a.m.–10:50 a.m. CDT (UTC-5)

30-minute break

10:50 a.m.–11:50 a.m. CDT (UTC-5)

Small-group discussions

Pick a topic, and hop into one of our Zoom rooms to meet new friends and talk shop.

11:50 a.m.–12:00 p.m. CDT (UTC-5)

10-minute break

12:00 p.m.–1:00 p.m. CDT (UTC-5)

Panel: Ethics, bias, and responsible design

Join Stephanie Lucas, Jane Ruffino, Candi Williams, and Crystal Yan as they tackle some of the deeper challenges of our work.

Stephanie Lucas, LinkedIn

Jane Ruffino, Character & Södertörn University

Candi Williams, Nationwide Building Society

Crystal Yan, Remitly

1:00 p.m.–3:15 p.m. CDT (UTC-5)

Downtime and watch parties

Here’s some time to chill out, catch up, and check out the talks in our on-demand library.
‍See the watch party schedule

3:15 p.m.–3:50 p.m. CDT (UTC-5)

Quarantimes: Your stories, told by you

Gather round the digital campfire to hear fellow Button attendees share inspiring and maybe even hilarious stories from their work and lives.

3:50 p.m.–4:00 p.m. CDT (UTC-5)

10-minute break

4:00 p.m.–4:35 p.m. CDT (UTC-5)

Keynotes and conversations

Gaining trust—and how to restore it when it breaks

Kevin Bui, Atlassian

4:35 p.m.–5:10 p.m. CDT (UTC-5)

Fireside chat with Mario Ferrer

Join Kristina Halvorson for a one-on-one conversation about communities of practice with Mario Ferrer (Senior UX Writer, Skyscanner).

Mario Ferrer, Skyscanner

Kristina Halvorson, Brain Traffic

5:10 p.m.–5:15 p.m. CDT (UTC-5)

Day two wrap-up

Kristina Halvorson, Brain Traffic

5:15 p.m.–7:00 p.m. CDT (UTC-5)

Downtime and watch parties

Here’s some time to chill out, catch up, and check out the talks in our on-demand library.
‍See the watch party schedule

7:00 p.m.–8:00 p.m. CDT (UTC-5)

Button Trivia Extravaganza

Wind down for the day with all your new friends! Test your knowledge of important UX minutiae and low-stakes nonsense.

Day Three: Live broadcast schedule

7:45 a.m.–8:45 a.m. CDT (UTC-5)

Watch parties

Gather with fellow attendees in your time zone to watch a talk from our on-demand library—hosted by the speaker!
‍See the watch party schedule

9:00 a.m.–9:10 a.m. CDT (UTC-5)

Button Day 3 kickoff

Kristina Halvorson, Brain Traffic

9:10 a.m.–10:20 a.m. CDT (UTC-5)

Keynotes and conversations

Collaborating with overthinkers

Meredith Arthur, Pinterest

The “pipeline problem” is about belonging

John Paz, Atlassian

10:20 a.m.–10:50 a.m. CDT (UTC-5)

30-minute break

10:50 a.m.–11:50 a.m. CDT (UTC-5)

Small-group discussions

Pick a topic, and hop into one of our Zoom rooms to meet new friends and talk shop.

11:50 a.m.–12:00 p.m. CDT (UTC-5)

10-minute break

12:00 p.m.–1:00 p.m. CDT (UTC-5)

Panel: Design leadership in 2020

Join Marissa Phillips, Jacqui Frey, Tina O’Shea, Andy Welfle, and Karen Cross as they discuss the unique challenges and opportunities of leading product content teams in 2020.

Marissa Phillips, Airbnb

Andy Welfle, Adobe

Jacquelyn Frey, MailChimp

Karen Cross, Atlassian

Tina O’Shea, QuickBooks

1:00 p.m.–3:15 p.m. CDT (UTC-5)

Downtime and watch parties

Here’s some time to chill out, catch up, and check out the talks in our on-demand library.
‍See the watch party schedule

3:15 p.m.–3:50 p.m. CDT (UTC-5)

Quarantimes: The Button Amateur Hour

Music! Laughter! Weird people tricks! Come enjoy the hidden gifts of your fellow Button attendees and speakers.

Malaika Carpenter, SayCred Media Group, LLC

3:50 p.m.–4:00 p.m. CDT (UTC-5)

10-minute break

4:00 p.m.–4:35 p.m. CDT (UTC-5)

Keynotes and conversations

To the pain! How to tackle intractable problems

Kaytee Nesmith, NPR

4:35 p.m.–5:10 p.m. CDT (UTC-5)

Fireside chat with Jess Sand

Join Kristina Halvorson and Jess Sand (independent UX Content Strategist) to explore how technology and content are helping to build non-extractive economies in which content-driven platforms contribute to community resilience and more equitable systems.

Jess Sand, independent

Kristina Halvorson, Brain Traffic

5:10 p.m.–5:15 p.m. CDT (UTC-5)

Final thoughts and next steps

Kristina Halvorson, Brain Traffic

Attend a watch party!

Join Button speakers and fellow attendees to watch talks from our on-demand library together, with real-time conversations in Zoom and Slack. Please note that there may be changes to this schedule based on speaker availability.